Homily: Second Sunday of Advent

December 7, 2025

My dear brothers and sisters, we are in the second week of our Advent preparations for the coming of Jesus. In the liturgy of the word of today, we are reminded in a special way that Jesus who is coming to us is the Prince of peace. The prophesy of Isaiah in Isaiah 9:6 tell us: “for unto us child is born, a son is given (….) and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” Jesus is the Prince of Peace, for us to be fit to recognize Jesus who comes to us, we must be apostles of peace. In the responsorial psalm of today, we sang, “in his days justice shall flourish and peace abound forever.

In the first reading just read to our hearing, the prophet Isaiah paints a picture of the peaceful society that would be obtainable when we Christians open our hearts to the reign of Christ. In the words of the prophet, “the wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf, the lion and the fatling together and a little child shall lead them.” In real life, there is nothing in common between these ferocious wild animals and the domestic ones if not a predator-prey relationship. Their peaceful and harmonious relationship is simply an impossibility. There is no other business that the lion has with the calf and the lamb if not to tear them into pieces and enjoy them as meal. However, the prophet used this seemingly impossible image to drive home the message that when we sincerely prepare and welcome Christ, peace and harmony will reign in our lives, in our families and in our society. That which seemed impossible in the sight of men becomes possible in the presence of God.

We remember the creation account in the book of Genesis; God created the world to be good. Peace, order, harmony reigned with the created world and God saw that all He made was good. Our first parents were created to be like God and put in the garden of Eden. It was only when Satan the prince of lies came into the scene that discord, disharmony, hatred, and war began. Till today, discord and hatred remain the handwork of the Evil One. However, the good news for us is that Jesus has come to liberate us from the shackles of the Evil One and deliver us to the kingdom of the saints in light. Jesus has come to restore our lost glory. We must welcome Jesus. We must open our hearts for Jesus to come in because He cannot force Himself on us.

In the second reading of today, we heard St Paul admonishing and praying for peace and harmony among God’s children. In the words of St Paul, “May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus (…) welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” Brothers and sisters, we must accept and welcome one another because Christ has accepted us. We must welcome one another in sincere pardon and fraternal love. There should be an atmosphere of welcome in the family, the spouses loving each other with a faithful and flawless love. Children must love, respect their parents, grandparents and vice versa. By sincerely making effort to be an apostle of peace in our time is one of the ways through which we can prepare for the coming of Jesus in this advent season.

In the gospel reading, the figure of St John de Baptist becomes a further motivation to us that we have to strongly wrestle against the spirit of the world, so as to be able to imbibe and live the Christian virtue of peace and harmony. Everything about John de Baptist, his food, his clothing, his teaching, his location, all point to Christ. His clothing- Carmel’s hair, his food- locust and wild honey, his location- wilderness, all these give us a picture of penance, mortification, detachment from the spirit of the world and attachment to the spirit of Christ. His teaching is a call for us to prepare the way of the Lord and make His path straight. My dear people of God, peace, love, harmony, the reign of Christ in our lives will not come on their own. Like John de Baptist we have to devotedly commit ourselves to achieving them by detachment from the spirit of the world and attachment to the spirit of Christ, and by consciously preparing for the coming of Jesus.